Along with reports that is comes news that the company is also expanding its hybrid fleet. According to Automotive News, the Silver Arrow is looking to introduce hybridized versions of the company’s , and vehicles in just three years. The move is an effort to prepare for ever tightening fuel-economy legislation in both the U.S. and Europe. The report says that European buyers can expect to see the battery-operated C- and E-Class vehicles show up in Europe in 2013 and that a plug-in S-Class hybrid will debut shortly thereafter.
American buyers, meanwhile, will likely see the tech arrive in showrooms six months after their European cousins. According to Herbert Kohler, the company’s head of E-Drive and future mobility, Mercedes-Benz is currently spending half of its $5.6 billion research and development budget on investigating alternative powertrains.
Combined with a heavier diesel mix, the hybrids will go a long way toward upping the Mercedes-Benz corporate average fuel economy.
2012 Ferrari Four – Click above for high-res image gallery
Red may be the iconic color for , but not all Ferraris look good in the company’s trademark scarlet shade. Especially the flagship four-seat GTs, like the outgoing 612 Scaglietti and the 456 GT that came before it. But just about every car looks best from the front 3/4 view. So it may have stricken some as a little odd that when Ferrari unveiled , it only released three initial shots: a front view, a rear view and the side profile… all in red.
Now it’s released a handful of additional photos, including three shots of the test mule drifting through snow banks from the , plus the solitary three-quarter front/side view you see above in silver. Is it looking better? Worse?
Aston Martin V8 Vantage S – Click above for high-res image gallery
has found a way to turn up the heat on its V8 Vantage with a new S model. The coupe packs the same 4.7-liter V8 under the hood as its predecessors, though the mad scientists in Gaydon have managed to wrench a full 430 horsepower and 361 pound-feet of torque from the eight-pot. The engine is now bolted to a tweaked version of the company’s seven-speed SportShift II transmission with even shorter ratios than before and the combined effect should be more than enough to snap your neck in style.
The engineers also bolted in a quicker steering rack, huge rotors and six-piston calipers up front to ensure this machine can take whatever level of flogging you deem appropriate.
The design crew at AM specifically lifted cues from the even mightier V12 Vantage and the race-bred Vantage GT4. That means buyers can expect to find a carbon fiber splitter low on the front fascia and a pair of wildlife-swallowing inlets designed to feed those massive stoppers. for the full press release.
Volkswagen Formula XL1 Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery
has taken another step towards making the one-liter car a reality, and this 200 mile-per-gallon dream could be on the roads within the next few years.
The Formula XL1 Concept combines a two cylinder TDI engine, electric motor, lithium-ion battery pack and a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission to achieve an astonishing 0.9L/100 km – just over 260 mpg to us Yanks. The included plug-in system, along with the XL1’s low drag and extensive use of lightweight materials has the potential to make the concept the most efficient vehicle to ever grace public roads.
The XL1 is making its debut at the Qatar Motor Show this week, and while it , this latest version is more production read than its predecessors. Check it out from every angle in the gallery below and for the full details.
Mini Paceman Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery
The minds at may be itching to stretch their design legs with the next generation . According to Autocar, design guru Adrian van Hooydonk said that the third-generation hatchback will be a bigger design leap than the current generation, though he wasn’t exactly willing to dive into more detail on the look of the vehicle. Hooydonk did say that his army of artists is approaching the car with a clean sheet of paper, with a special focus on the interior and its central-mounted speedo. Still, we’d be surprised if the company decided to walk too far away from the brand’s core image.
The original Cooper soldiered on with nary a design change for 40 years before finally getting the axe. To some degree, Mini has chained itself to that legacy, and while the addition of new models like the and have helped the brand distance itself from the Mini mold, we’re guessing that future iterations of the Cooper will still be easily identifiable as members of the pint-sized family.
2012 Porsche 911 Black Edition – Click above for high-res image gallery
Henry Ford famously said that customers ordering a Model T could have it in any color – as long it’s black. seems to be getting on board that century-old adage with a special edition of their own.
Based on the standard , the Black Edition actually comes in two color options – but both of them are black. The 3.6-liter, 345-horsepower flat-six carries over, but buyers can opt for the six-speed manual or seven-speed PDK. Customers can also choose from coupe or cabrio, with the convertible roof in (you guessed it) black, with black brake calipers poking out from behind the 19-inch alloys from the 911 Turbo and a black leather interior.
The Black Edition also comes bundled with a slew of optional extras, and with an MSRP of $81,300 for the coupe ($91,300 for the cabrio), Porsche says the package actually represents a $6,000 savings over equipping a base 911 with the same kit. All in all only 1,911 examples will be made, with 573 of them reserved for the U.S. market. Check it out in the gallery below.
2010 Gumpert Apollo – Click above for high-res image gallery
There are plenty of companies making a single line of supercars. Pagani, Weismann, Spyker, McLaren… we could go on and on. But if you’re going to pick a serious fight with established names like and , you’re going to need a second line. And that’s precisely what Gumpert has in store for us at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.
You may recognize the name Gumpert as the company behind the Apollo, a ridiculously fast and extreme exotic supercar. It was founded by one Roland Gumpert, former head of the motorsport division at , whose engine powers the Apollo with as much as 800 horsepower.
The Apollo, however, is derided as having been thoroughly worked over by the ugly stick. And that’s where Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera comes in. The Milanese coachbuilder has designed a new mid-engined V8 “fast tourer” called the Tortante with a composite shell over a space frame and carbon fiber monocoque. Enticing to be sure, and you can read the full announcement , but for the moment that’s all we have to go by.
2011 Mercedes-Benz C-Class – Click above for high-res image gallery
We’ve got good news for the oil-burning fans of United States. Car and Driver is reporting that wants to sell eight diesel models in the land of the free by 2014, and one of those will be a .
Odds are that the vehicle won’t show up until 2013, and when it does, it will come packing the Silver Arrow’s 2.1-liter turbo diesel mill with 204 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque. That same engine is likely to find its way into the nose of the as well, though the pint-sized crossover is expected to show its face sooner than its sedan cousin.
The GLK is likely to hit showrooms in the fall of this year as a 2012 model. Car and Driver says that when it does, it could bring some tasty figures to the table, including a 0-60 time in the seven second range and fuel economy in the high 30s.
Currently, Mercedes-Benz serves up a diesel option in its , , and models. The S-Class is set to join that party by the end of 2011.
It may be a tough sell to automotive executives to roll out a special edition to cater specifically to one market. Unless of course that one market has copious amounts of money to spend, and little in the way of demands in return for it beyond an added dose of exclusivity.
Rolls-Royce has done it and with special editions exclusive to the Middle East. has until now resisted, opting to cash in on its name instead by expanding outside its traditional area of sportscars into the SUV and sedan markets. But the temptation has evidently proven too much as Zuffenhausen has reportedly announced a special edition at the Qatar Motor Show.
The Panamera 4S Exclusive Middle East Edition packs the same 4.8-liter V8 engine and PDK dual-clutch gearbox as the standard 4S and comes equipped with the Sport Chrono Plus package as standard. What sets it apart is the Carrera White exterior tint, red leather interior and special black alloys. That, and a little plaque on the door sill. Only 66 examples will be made exclusively for the Middle East (read: Persian Gulf) – you can bet they’ll fetch a hefty premium, and that they’ll sell out almost as soon as the order books are opened.
The crowd at Axis of Oversteer managed to get their paws on the first BMW 1 Series M Coupes to be let loose on American soil. What did they do with the car? While we can imagine the vehicle has already suffered through a pile of hole-shot launches and some serious flinging, the AoO gang also took a spell to load the car onto a set of scales to find out what exactly the baby M weights with a full tank. In a world where manufacturers are increasingly pressed to get their vehicles under the 4,000 pound mark, the 1 Series M Coupe managed to slide in at 3,351 pounds.
That’s mighty skinny considering that the car packs a 340 horsepower turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six under hood. This particular car has a full dance card at the moment. It’s headed from New Jersey to Daytona, Florida to serve as the pace car for this weekend’s 24 Hours of Daytona. We’re guessing that the machine will be right at home among the muscle-bound bruisers going the distance down south.
The has an all new available engine under the hood. Canadian Kia fans can soon head over to dealers and pick up the which features a directly-injected 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. We’d expect the U.S. to follow suit in very short order.
Paired with a six-speed automatic transmission, the turbo mill has a relatively flat torque curve with peak power occurring between 1,800 and 3,000 rpm. When bolted into the , the 2.0T is rated at 274 horsepower and 269 pound-feet of torque. We expect the Sportage SX to produce similar numbers, including the 30+ miles per gallon highway fuel economy figures.
The car will show up in Canadian dealer showrooms by the end of winter. Priced at $36,995, it comes loaded with standard features including the new UVO entertainment system, which is similar to Ford’s Sync. Check out the full press release .
Gallery:
Photos copyright (C)2010 Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL
Hollister and Facebook have teamed up to take social media to new and lofty heights. The clothing company just wrapped up a contest in which users were invited to submit photos of their derrières in Hollister jeans. Both guys and girls could enter for a chance to take home one very awesome, custom 1978 Microbus, complete with all the surf gear you’d need to at least pretend like you’re a beach bum. Facebook users were invited to judge the competing rears and vote on their favorites, and one rump stood above the rest.
Lizzy Marola entered the contest at a Hollister store on a whim and wound up winning the eyes of enough voters to take home the bus of her dreams. Marola is a freshman at Coastal Carolina University, so there’s at least some chance that those long boards will hit the water in the near future.
The Microbus was delivered to Marola at her home in Torrington College, Connecticut recently on a trailer before being inspected and registered. If you’re interested to see the image that won it for her, .
2011 Ford Excursion – Click above for high-res image gallery
The Ford Excursion lives, though not through any fault of . The clever craftsmen at Custom Autos by Tim can turn any 2010 or into what looks to be a factory-perfect interpretation of what the Excursion would look like if it hadn’t been axed in 2005. Buyers can get their behemoths with either four or six doors and it usually takes Tim’s crew around six weeks to turn a vehicle from a pickup to an SUV. In that time, the shop finds a 2005 Excursion from the southwest, drags it to their shop in Guthrie, Oklahoma and surgically removes the rear-end of the vehicle.
From there, the aft is grafted onto the new truck and a completely new interior is installed. The whole shebang will cost you $23,000 on top of the purchase price of your standard F-250 or F-350. Given that the F-250 starts at $29,480 without destination, chances are you’re looking at a price tag of over $53,000 by the time all is said and done. We think we’d just as soon stick with a were it our chips on the table.
While attending the 2011 Detroit Auto Show, we took a moment to stop by the display to have a word with Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann and head of R&D Maurizio Reggiani. At that time, we learned the Lamborghini 834, the replacement otherwise known as the Aventador (probably), .
Lamborghini revealed that its next supercar would have a pushrod suspension with horizontal dampers – the first time such a system will appear on a production car, according to the automaker. The setup will keep the wheel in perfect alignment throughout the range of suspension travel and a high-end set of Ohlins shocks should keep the tire on the pavement.
Now, Lamborghini has release the first set of images showing off its new suspenders, along with a press release (find it ) with a slew of technical details explaining why the new design is superior to others. See for yourself in the image gallery below, and hold tight until the official unveiling of Lambo’s next great supercar at the Geneva Motor Show.
2011 Mazda2 – Click above for high-res image gallery
is preparing a fleet of electric vehicles that will be available for lease in Japan. Based on the , these EVs will utilize the automaker’s new SKYACTIV powertrain technology. Mazda is shooting for a 200-kilometer driving range (about 124 miles) and plans to begin the leasing program in the spring of 2012.
The target audience for the vehicle will be local government groups and fleet customers. Mazda’s ultimate goal of the program is to refine its knowledge of electric vehicles by collecting data on EV requirements and powertrain technology. For the full details, for the automaker’s brief press release.
2011 Nissan Juke – Click above for high-res image gallery
seems to be on a war path to fill every last ounce of white space in the automotive spectrum. The company has unleashed a barrage of vehicles that range from playful to downright confusing. At first blush, the would seem to fit into the latter category. With styling that’s two shakes away from robo-reptilian, the small crossover packs plenty of power, a tall ride height and a small footprint into one sub-$20,000 package. If you can avoid pigeonholing the Juke, you’ll find that the engineers at Nissan secretly managed to bring their own interpretation of the hot hatch to market without raising the ire of the company’s accountants.
We wouldn’t blame you for thinking we’re one stud short of a lug pattern on this one, but point your peepers to a few specs and you’ll see what we mean. The Juke weighs in at less than 3,000 pounds in front-wheel-drive guise and packs a turbocharged, direct-injection 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine that’s good for 188 horsepower. For reference, the company’s own hits the scales with an extra 88 pounds on its waist and 11 fewer ponies at its command. Opt for the manual gearbox in the Juke, and things get even lighter. Intrigued? We were too.
Porsche 918 Spyder – Click above for high-res image gallery
has unveiled two very different versions of the enticing 918 project. First came the , and then the German automaker took the wraps off the . While the former was Porsche’s vision for a roadgoing hybrid roadster, the latter took the form of a fixed-roof racing coupe. The question on everyone’s minds, though, is what form the eventual production version will take.
According to reports, while the racing version will retain the fixed roof and upwards-hinged doors of the RSR concept, the roadgoing version will offer the wind-in-your-hair experience of the Spyder. Autocar states that the production model will feature a removable roof panel, much like the Carrera GT. Confirmation reportedly comes from , Porsche’s outgoing VP for product development who is switching to head up and , not to mention taking the reigns at Volkswagen Group’s motorsports division.
2012 Fiat Freemont – Click above for high-res image gallery
has had plenty of partnerships over the years, and as odd as it may have seemed in the beginning, the tie-in with arguably makes more sense than any of those past pairings. Chrysler doesn’t have much of a presence overseas, and Fiat doesn’t in North America. Putting them together, then, could be the perfect formula for global success. The Fiat 500 is coming to North America, and while we’ve been hearing about Chrysler vehicles being sent to Europe for quite some time now, this is the first actual proof.
The vehicle you see here will be unveiled at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show as the Fiat Freemont. Look familiar? That’s because it’s essentially the with a different badge on the nose. Otherwise it’s essentially the same vehicle, produced alongside the Journey at the same plant in Toluca, Mexico.
The only major difference to speak of is under the hood, where Fiat’s own 2.0-liter MultiJet turbo diesel engines (with 140 or 170 horsepower) will be offered with front-wheel drive and a manual gearbox initially. All-wheel drive, an automatic transmission and Chrysler’s 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 will be offered shorly after the initial launch. The full details are available in the press release after the break, and see the Journey-come-Fiat for yourself in the high-res gallery below.
North American enthusiasts are vocal station wagon supporters, though there’s little to satiate their desires with the V70 out of showrooms in the U.S. Looking longingly at European offerings has taken on extra sting with the recent arrival of the sharp-looking – a five-door version of the – and would be just the thing many Volvo owners and intenders wish to park in their garage. According to , all may not be lost.
Speaking with new Volvo CEO Stefan Jacoby, the V60 may come stateside as a type of “enthusiast vehicle” sporting a unique selling point: a hybrid powertrain. “Enthusiast” in this case doesn’t mean Rat Fink. Rather, Volvo may offer the wagon fans crave along with a hybrid powertrain to speak to the ecological consciousness of both the automaker and the buyer. A lot of the engineering work has already been done with supplier on the V70, which shares its EUCD platform with the S/V60, and it would keep Volvo loyalists out of the clutches of the Prius or Lexus HS250h.
2011 BMW 550i – Click above for high-res image gallery
The China’s Beijing Youth Daily reports that , along with joint venture partner Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd., will develop a -based electric sedan targeted specifically at the Chinese market. The report claims that a battery-powered 5 Series concept will make its debut in China sometime in 2011, likely at the Shanghai Motor Show in April.
BMW Brilliance Automotive Co., the joint venture between BMW and Brilliance, currently manufacturers both the and 5 Series sedans in the Chinese city of Shenyang. In 2010, the BMW Group sold 169,000 vehicles in China, a surge of 87 percent over the sales it tallied in in 2009.
